Sony ESPN
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Malayalam Bengali Kannada English Hindi Tamil Telugu |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | ESPN Inc. (50%) Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt Ltd (50%) |
Sony ESPN was an Indian pay television sports channel which was a joint venture between ESPN Inc. (majorly owned by The Walt Disney Company) and Sony Pictures Networks India. The channel targeted the Indian subcontinent including India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Launched as Sony Kix on 8 April 2015 (the day when 2015 Indian Premier League began) by what is now Sony Pictures Networks India, it was the second sports television channel launched by the company after Sony Six. The channel was rebranded as Sony ESPN on 17 January 2016. The partnership with ESPN was made official in October 2015.[1] Sony and ESPN partnered on website and app efforts, with ESPN providing and producing content such as cricket, football, tennis, NBA basketball, badminton, field hockey, golf, rugby union, Formula E along with other events.[2][3]
Sony ESPN have broadcast IPL matches during 2016–2017 in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English-language commentary.[4][5][6]
As part of a deal with ESPN International, Sony ESPN broadcast the NFL season 2016–17 with programs such as Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, Thursday Night Football, NFL Playoffs, Pro Bowl, and the Super Bowl. Sony ESPN also broadcast the XFL.
In October 2017, North America’s professional wrestling promotion IMPACT’s weekly shows and PPVs started airing on Sony ESPN, moving from Sony SIX.
The channel along with its HD version was shut down on 30 March 2020.
References
- ^ "ESPN to make comeback on Indian TV; partners with MSM". Daily News and Analysis. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ "MSM India and ESPN to create co-branded content Platforms in Indian subcontinent". Business Standard. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ "MSM to launch new channels, website on sports". Live Mint. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ "Multi Screen Media to launch Sony Kix to air IPL season 8". The Economic Times. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
- ^ "MSM to launch new sports channel, Sony Kix". 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
- ^ IPL set to dish out feeds in Telugu, Tamil, Bengali too - Deccan Chronicle
External links
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Owners: Walt Disney Company (80%); Hearst Communications (20%) | |||||||||||||||||
- ESPN
- Sony Pictures Networks India
- Sports television networks in India
- Television channels and stations established in 2015
- English-language television stations in India
- Hindi-language television channels in India
- Television stations in Mumbai
- 2015 establishments in India
- Television channels and stations disestablished in 2020
- Defunct television channels in India